


Responsibility and Sisters

by taylor_tut



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Guilt, Homesick, Responsibility, Worry, troubled character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-11-20 15:51:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11338572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taylor_tut/pseuds/taylor_tut
Summary: Excerpt: Lance often felt homesick, Shiro knew, but he had always thought it was missing the comforts of home–not some kind of fear of what he had left behind.





	1. Chapter 1

Keith lunged toward Lance once more, pinning him for the third time in two minutes. Their sparring matches usually ended in Keith’s victory, but never this quickly.

“Come on, Lance; you’re not even trying,” he prodded. Lance’s grimace (the one he’d been sporting all day, Keith had noticed) turned into an outright scowl at Keith’s jab.

“Sorry,” he said flippantly, “I’m distracted. And tired. Can I be done with this for the day?” Shiro looked surprised when Lance turned toward him, but before he could answer, Keith was interrupting.

“Seriously? You’re just ‘done with this for the day?’”

Lance bristled. “I wasn’t asking you.”

“You know why we train, right?” Keith pressed.

“Keith, knock it off,” Shiro grumbled, but Keith didn’t stop his assault.

“It’s because what we do is important. So whatever you’ve got that’s distracting you, whatever girl turned you down at the space mall or whatever conditioner you ran out of, you need to forget about it so you can focus on your actual responsibility to the universe for once.”

“Well, I’m sorry; not all of us just have this one big responsibility to the fucking universe,” Lance snapped in a terrifying quiet tone. “Can I not be cut a little bit of slack on the one day that I can’t stop thinking about the responsibility I have been pulled away from?”

Keith looked shocked, his mouth falling open for a moment. Lance sighed and rubbed his face tiredly.

“What are you talking about?”

“Look, I’m sorry. I just–I’m stressed out. Can I just go back to my room?” Lance asked.

“No,” Shiro replied, “Tell us what you meant. What other responsibilities are you talking about?”

Lance often felt homesick, Shiro knew, but he had always thought it was missing the comforts of home–not some kind of fear of what he had left behind.

Lance hesitated. “I mean, my mom is back on Earth, raising six children alone, and the next oldest one is my little sister, and she’s only 14.”

Shiro softened. “I’m sorry,” he replied, “I had no idea. But you know they’re fine, right? You mom was on her own with them while you were at Garrison, wasn’t she?”

“Well yeah,” Lance admitted, “but that’s the problem. That school is expensive, and it took almost all of our savings money. I was supposed to start working over the summer as a cargo pilot and eventually get a full-time piloting job to cover the expenses, but now I’m here, and they’re on Earth with all my debt and loans on one income. My sister is supposed to start looking at schools this year, but without my loans paid off, she’s not going to have any options. She’s just going to have to get a job, and that’s–I just can’t–today is–” he trailed off, but Pidge knew what he was trying to say.

“The deadline for Garrison applications,” she finished. Lance nodded, not taking his eyes off the floor.

“Mi hermanita would have made a really great pilot,” he near-whispered, smiling sadly, “way better than me. And she’s not going to get to be one. Because I’m here defending the universe. So, yeah,” he looked back up at Keith with tears shimmering in his eyes, “I know this is my one big duty. And I know it comes with sacrifices, and I’ve made them all willingly. But I just–my sister shouldn’t have to, right? She doesn’t get to go to flight school because of her brother, who she probably thinks is dead anyway? I’m trying, but I just–today I need a little slack.” He set his bayard down on the ground and turned away. “I’m done with this for the day,” he said as he went back to his room.

No one stopped him this time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because I didn’t want to leave this sad:

“Lance?” Hunk asked, knocking lightly on the door.

“I’m fine, Hunk,” he replied.

“Can we come in?”

“’We?’” Lance dried his eyes on his sleeve and took a steadying breath before opening the door to reveal all four of the other paladins, plus Coran and Allura, piled up outside his door. Allura’s eyes, surprisingly, were the closest to spilling tears as she leaned in and pulled him into a tight embrace.

“I’m so sorry for everything we’re taking away from you,” she breathed. “Thank you.”

Lance crumbled under her grip.

“Damn it, Allura; you’re gonna make me cry,” he laughed through thick, hitching breaths.

“Good,” she replied, pulling away to reveal that she, too, was crying. “That makes two of us.”

“Three,” Hunk provided.

“I can step on Keith’s foot and make it four, if you want,” Pidge offered, but her own tone was choked and nasal. Lance laughed.

“You give up a lot for this team, Lance,” Shiro said diplomatically, “and we appreciate that. And you. We appreciate you.”

“We love you, Lance,” Hunk smiled. Lance buried his face in the sleeve of his jacket and tried to gain control over himself.

“I love you guys, too,” he smiled.

“Come on,” Keith offered, “since we cancelled sparring practice, I think you at least owe us a family movie night.”

Pidge began to babble about her extensive pirated film collection while Hunk and Keith argued about what genre to watch, and Coran and Allura tried to keep up with the concept of Earth entertainment, and Shiro scrounged up materials for a living room blanket nest.

Family movie night. Family. Lance gave up a lot, but maybe with what he’d gained, he was breaking just about even.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> from taylor's friend: also sorry I didn't notice that Taylor had written a second part for this fic, so my apologies about that.


End file.
